first off, i live in a small apartment. bed, bath, kitchen, living. there’s no great place to put it in the first place [it’s in the bathroom rn]
every time i see it it feels like a chore. it gives me anxiety, it is a constant chore, endless, does not stop. it will never stop. i cannot finish the chore, ever.
^ and to that point – if i were to scoop every day or even less frequently, it is disgusting 100% of the time, no matter what. touching it at all is disgusting, putting my face or body near it is disgusting, i don’t want to see or interact with it in any way. every time i interact with it, it’s a mental barrier to break down. no amount of cutesy names or molded plastic will make it not fucking disgusting.
none of the self cleaning ones really work properly, do they?
it’s bad for the cats if you don’t maintain it properly
i mean ok whatever. if this is the worst part of their lives, fine, they don’t have to work or pay rent or worry.
By agreeing to take in a cat, you are obligated to maintaining its wellbeing for its entire lifetime. This includes access to healthy food, clean water, clean litter, hiding spaces, enrichment (toys, play, companionship, etc) and ensuring it is spayed/neutered, has its shots up to date, and has (at least) an annual checkup with the vet.
Pets are not toys. They are not trophies. Pets are living, thinking, and feeling companions. Do not get one if you cannot handle those basic responsibilities.
With that out of the way, the Litter-Robot (from litter-robot.com) is a pretty good automatic litter box. They’re a heavy up-front investment, but I feel it’s worth it. They work with most litter brands so you don’t have to buy special litter through them (although they do sell it). They don’t work with cats under 5lbs, so it’s not suitable for very small/light breeds or kittens. It’s large enough for average size Maine Coons, but that’s about as big of a cat that it’ll work with. You can get a refurb through them for a discount if the price for new is too steep. It does take up a large amount of space compared to a normal litter box, so it may not be good for very small living areas.